The topic of concussions in sports is a dialogue that’s been
growing the past number of years. Do a
search on ‘concussions’ and ‘football’ and you’ll get several thousand hits on
the controversy that’s surrounded the sport.
It’s a challenging topic as the research is all relatively new, and the
topic itself challenges the mentality and philosophy adopted by football loving
Americans. Now, I’m not a fan of
football or NFL but when I saw this book lying at the local bookstore, my
interest was piqued. Although I’m not a
fan of football, those that know me know that I’m an unabashed fan of
prowrestling. Talks about concussions
are also quite a hot topic even within the prowrestling sub-culture. Earlier this year, one of the hottest
wrestlers of the current era, Daniel Bryan, retired early at the age of 34 due
to a history of concussion related issues.
Interestingly, he was not permitted to return to the ring due to the
disapproval by WWE’s medical director – a doctor by the name of Joseph
Maroon. It is interesting as Maroon
himself plays an antagonistic character of sorts in this book. While I’m not sure how long he’s been
involved with the WWE, he has been a neurosurgeon for the Pittsburgh Steelers
and involved with concussion related forums with the NFL for a number of
years. Hence, his involvement in this
book.

Written by Steve Fainaru and Mark Fainaru-Wada in 2013,
League of Denial recounts the discovery of brain injuries (or chronic traumatic
encephalopathy (CTE) as it’s commonly referred) to professional football
players as a result of years of head trauma.
The stories are tragic, with relatively young players (in their 40s and
50s) exhibiting behaviors that are more akin to 70 year olds with
dementia. The disease is so degenerative
and so unbearable, that a number of times, these former players end their own
lives. But even the way in which these
players take their lives is interesting.
There are a number of cases where the players would take a bullet to
their own chest, instead of the head, to preserve their brains as best as
possible, with the intention of having their heads studied. They were not well, they knew it, but they
couldn’t bear it.

The book follows a number of key neurologists that were
involved with the discovery and exploration of CTEs. One such scientist is a Nigerian doctor by
the name of Bennet Omalu, who in many ways is akin to Frodo Baggins in Lord of
the Rings. Here we have two characters,
faced with a monumental challenges and whom are seen as underdogs. Both are small in stature, both unaware of
the larger world. For Omalu, it was the
world of the NFL. He had not even seen a
game when the body of a former and Hall of Fame player ended up on the slab at
his office. Upon discovery of the CTE
disease, the NFL machine went quickly into denial mode. Who was Omalu, but an uninformed and
un-American man, to tell what the NFL was doing wrong? However, Omalu was not alone. It would not be long before a team of
neurologists would support his discoveries.

The book not only sheds light on the doctor’s discoveries,
but their contentions with the NFL of getting the results publicized and
recognized. It’s the classic battle with
the billion dollar industry. The book
(and several people within the book) compare the present concussion situation
in the NFL with that of the health issues and “Big Tobacco’s” refusal of
acknowledgment years ago in America.

At times, the stories within are frustrating to read, in
particular when in-fighting arises amongst the scientists themselves. On the verge of fighting back the NFL and
instigating changes, the scientists disband and form separate groups, allegedly
because of egos and attitudes of certain individuals.

As noted above, it’s a challenging issue because the NFL has
operated for decades under the growing pattern of providing harder hits and
takedowns. If you were knocked out, you
shook it off and got back on the field.
However, medical research says that you shouldn’t get back on the field. In fact, you should take an extended time off
the field to recover from any potential brain related injuries. However, this contravenes the mentality
that’s been adopted and accepted by the NFL.
Pressure from the football subculture would demand that you keep on
going. Football is a sport that’s seeped
so deep into the arteries of the country.
How do you go against a mentality that exists through the threads of
America?

The book is a fascinating read and provides insight on an
increasingly intensifying topic. Later
geeks!

Perhaps timed with the release of Star Wars: The Force
Awakens and to ride on its publicity train, Star Wars Battlefront was released
in November of last year.

Star Wars Battlefront is a predominantly multiplayer
shooter. It features a wide variety of
modes focusing on player versus player content.
It includes a “Fighter Squadron” mode where Tie Fighters pit against
X-Wings, “Heroes VS Villains” where some of Star Wars’ iconic characters do
battle, and “Walker Assault”, probably my favourite mode where the Imperial
soldiers protect the AT-ATs from being taken down by the Rebel scum. It also includes the standard modes that one
would expect from a multiplayer shooter like a team deathmatch (which they call
Blast), capture the flag (which they call Cargo) or capture the point (either Droid
Run or Drop Zone). There are also
offline “Mission” modes where you and one friend can do more simple missions,
like ward off a squadron of Stormtroopers or… ward off a squadron of
Stormtroopers (i.e. there’s not too much to do in Missions). It’s clear that the focus is on multiplayer.

In this game, since you’re firing off lasers instead of
bullets, you’re given unlimited ammo.
The only kickback is that your gun overheats if you fire too often
requiring a momentary and defenseless lapse before it cools down. So timing between shots is key, or else you’re
left with a firearm that’s too hot to handle.
You’re also given a “Hand”, with three cards that you’re allowed to
equip. Two of the cards you can pick are
item related, for example, a homing missle, or a sniper rifle or Chewie’s
bowcaster (!), to name a few. These
items can be used unlimited times in battle, with each having its own cool
down. The third card you get is a special
item that has a finite number of uses. When activated, they can do a number of
things, like takeaway overheating on your weapon or fire charged shots with
your gun. Each time you use this item,
it eats up a charge. You can gain more
charges by finding a thunderbolt like item on the battlefield (not too hard to
find) or by purchasing them with your in-game credits.

After each battle, you’re rewarded with experience points of
which 10% of it is awarded in in-game credits, which you can use to buy a
number of different upgrades.

Sometimes you run across Vader... who will slash your face with his Lightsabre.

The game has been criticized for the lack of depth. Although
there is a leveling and progression system in the game, there’s not much to be
done with it. The higher level you get,
the more opportunity you have to unlock items, appearances/skins and
emotes. You can get all the weapons once
you hit level 25, and all the useable items once you hit level 32. Everything after 32 are only cosmetic
upgrades making the leveling system a bit superfluous. And on top of that, even with the weapon unlocks,
with a dozen or so guns in total, very few of them feel different from one
another.

In some modes, you’re also allowed to play as heroes (Luke
Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo) and villains (Darth Vader, the Emperor,
Boba Fett) from the game. Unlike your
normal Rebel or Imperial footsoldiers, these characters have a life bar that
doesn’t regenerate, so although they are quite powerful, they are also disposable.

Technically and artistically, the game captures the sights
and sounds from the original movies very well.
When you’re running through snow with 19 other Stormtroopers on the ice
planet Hoth, you can’t but feel like you’re back in Empire Strikes Back. It’s made all the more exhilarating when you
run across Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader, fighting by your side.

...

Sometimes you ARE Vader, and deal the face slashing.

Despite the criticisms, I’ve really enjoyed the game. I’ve sunk about 45 hours so far into it and I’m
still enjoying it. It’s true, the depth
isn’t there. However, it feels to me
that they traded in depth for a lower barrier of entry which is more welcoming
to players who aren’t as great at shooters.
And the team at DICE who developed it, pointed that out too. They wanted to make sure it was an experience
that could be had amongst a broader range of gamers. I just feel better hopping into these battles
than in Call of Duty where you could be decimated as soon as you step in the field.

I think my biggest complaint though is the matchmaking
process and the team balancing or lack thereof.
I suppose because the game wants to give you a chance at playing each
side, between rounds, you’re whole team is switched between Rebels and
Imperials. There is no auto-team balance
or any shakeups between rounds. This can
be frustrating as if you land on a bad team, you’ll likely lose and lose and
lose and lose. Conversely, if you find a
great team, you’ll roll over the competition round after round. I would prefer them to have an auto-team
balance instead of just switching your whole team en masse to the other
side. I don’t mind playing as a Rebel or
Imperial multiple times in a row, I’d prefer a fair game.

Aside from that, I’d still recommend the game. It’s not a hard recommend as the multiplayer
only focus stifles the experience and there’s the depth issue. However, if you want to feel like you’re part
of a Star Wars battle, then this is an easy one. Until next time, later geeks!

Like many of you out there, I’ve started watching more hours
of TV series/seasons than I have movies over the past few years. As some say, it’s the golden era of
television, with strong and impactful stories told across the long form medium
that is television. I’ve watched and
caught up (and am still catching up in the case of Sopranos) on a number of
great series the past few months, so I’m hoping to write a short little write
up for each of those. The good thing is
because I’ve had so many shows on the backlog, it becomes easier to filter out
the shit, as I can see others reviews and public reaction to these shows.

I need to start somewhere, so I’m going to start with the
best. Ash vs Evil Dead. This is the best show ever. But I am biased. Evil Dead 2 is my favourite movie and has
been since 2001 (at the time, I was a late bloomer). It is the perfect mix of horror and slapstick
comedy. The franchise solidified Bruce
Campbell as a cult hero of sorts. Ash vs
Evil Dead continues in the spirit of the Evil Dead series, and expands on the
lore and universe we already knew.

Thirty years later and a few pounds heavier, we follow Ash
as he lives a mundane life of working at a department store, getting wasted at
local watering hole and shacking up with the local broads. He now lives in a trailer park, amongst other
knuckle dragging life forms. On one
particular drunken binge, Ash, in an effort to impress one of the
aforementioned local broads, brings her back to his trailer where they both
recite some incantations out of the Necronomicon – the book of the dead. STUPID!
They unknowingly summon the evil spirits who once again take possession
of everyone around him, in attempt to finally kill off Ash Williams, our hero
and saviour.

As the season continues we journey with Ash and some of his
new friends. There is Pablo, a young latino
who worked with Ash at the department store, and Kelly, a young female that
Pablo’s got the hots for. Together the band
are on a journey to put to rest the evil that Ash accidentally brought back to
life! Expect zaniness and blood and guts
along the way!

One thing to note is because of some rights issue regarding
the Army of Darkness (the third Evil Dead movie in the franchise), they don’t
really reference that movie, save for the fact that Ash currently works at a
local store. We’re shown clips
throughout the season, but they all reference the first two movies.

The new band.

Going in, I had some trepidation as I was afraid they’d ruin
such an iconic character. However, everything
about the series works! It’s still the
smart mouth, chainsaw wielding, evil fighting Ash that we know and love. But aside from Ash, what makes the season
work is the chemistry he has between his new friends Pablo and Kelly. It’s risky changing a dynamic that was tried,
tested and true, however, in this case, I think it paid off. The new characters play off of Ash so well
and none are annoying (and you just know in another movie, they could be). Each brings some sensibility to balance Ash,
while adding their own sort of comedic wits, but never to such a degree that it
overshadows him. They are a cohesive
unit to the point where the few times they teased breaking up, it made me feel
sad for the characters.

I’m grateful that they stuck with practical effects and not
just CG! There are some CG, but it is
predominantly practical and man, some of the effects are gross!!! And it’s great! Probably the funnest scene was in the first
episode as Ash battles a possessed toy doll at the retail store. This fight will be a future classic!

I also loved the licensed music they chose for the
season. It really emphasizes the FEEL of
the 80s even though the show takes place in present times.

One problem I did have with the show is that I felt at least
with the earlier episodes in the season, they didn’t give Ash as much dialogue
as they did one-liners. It felt like
they were trying to get over new lines instead of having him talk
normally. Maybe I got used to it as the
season progressed, but it felt like that problem largely went away in later
episodes.

Apart from the season opener and finale, each episode runs
less than 30 minutes, so you get quick hits!
And actually, it works really well with its runtime! So much, to the point that I wished the
Walking Dead were shorter sub-30 minute episodes. It made binging the season really fast.

Friends, if you love horror and if you love the Evil Dead,
please do watch Ash vs Evil Dead! It is
a good time for all! Until next time,
later evil deadite geeks!

Ed Brubaker is my favourite comic book author, and perhaps
in contention for my favourite author across all mediums. Whenever I see his titles on the store shelf,
I purchase them sight unseen. The last
series he did, Fatale, with frequent collaborator, Sean Phillips, was a
favourite. Blending in noir with mystery
and horror was a joy to read.

With Fade Out, he returns to the noir genre with a murder
mystery. Gone are the fantastical and
horror elements of Fatale. Instead, it’s
a story about 1940s Hollywood centered around a murder of a hot leading
actress. The story mostly follows a
young script writer, named Charlie Parish, who wakes up one morning and
discovers the body of the actress his hotel room after a night of
partying. His memory is hazy and
fragmented and he doesn’t remember how he got there. He covers up his tracks and it’s soon
revealed that a bigger cover up may be going on; this one murder may be tied to
the larger Hollywood murder. But… we don’t
yet know. Along the way, we meet a
number of other dubious characters including a hotheaded German director, a
blacklisted film writer, a brute that serves as the head of security/muscles of
the movie studio and an assortment of other colourful characters.

Admittedly, when the first volume of Fade Out was released
earlier last year, maybe because of the hype I had in Brubaker, but I felt a
bit let down. Not that the story wasn’t
captivating, but it just didn’t grab me the way that Fatale did. It felt like just a straight up murder
mystery. However, having read the second
volume (that was originally released in October of last year), the story and
the intrigue has improved. The first
volume was more focused on setting the stage, however, it lacked a real hook. The second volume expands that world by
introducing interesting peripheral key players and exploring more of what
appears to be the seedy side of Hollywood.
This is the hook that it was missing in the first volume.

As smoky as Hollywood could be.

Story aside, together with the art of Sean Phillips, they’ve
successfully crafted the smoky and dark atmosphere of the 1940s. At least, it’s the 1940s that one would
expect depicted in a current day movie of that era.

Despite it not being my favourite Brubaker story (at least
so far) it’s hard to not recommend his work.
He is still a great writer and this is still an interesting story. So if you’re down for a good murder mystery,
the Fade Out has you covered. Until next
time, later geeks!

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 is Activision’s latest entry into
the bestselling Call of Duty franchise.
Developed by Treyarch Studios, the Black Ops subseries of Call of Duty
games has been considered by many as the best of the COD games. Whereas Black Ops 1 and 2 were direct
sequels, BO3 seems only to be a spiritual sequel to its predecessors. There is no direct or clear continuation of
story from the previous entries. Rather
it takes the ideas of mind control and manipulation, and spins off its own
story.

It’s a futuristic world, where humans are infused with technology
(much like Robocop!) and fight alongside and against robots. This time around, you assume the role of an
unnamed soldier, who together with your partner Hendricks and a CIA agent named
Rachel Kane, track down a former Black Ops commander named John Taylor as he
and his former squad appears to have gone rogue destroying CIA sites around the
world. The story will take you to
Singapore, Egypt and even wackier, you’ll have battles inside someone’s head,
taking you to World War I and even in a cabin fending off zombies. Of the Call of Duty games so far, and
strictly from a campaign standpoint, this one was probably most wackiest (yes,
even considering the space and underwater fights in Ghost)!

The game allows you the option to play the campaign offline
by yourself, or online with three other human players in your squad. The game balances this out by increasing the
bullet sponging of the bad guys. As I
recall, they don’t do this with the human bad guys, but since half the game you’re
fighting robots, I guess they justify it by giving them stronger armor.

The campaign structure received an overhaul this time
around. Between each mission, you can
completely customize your loadout, similar to what you would expect in previous
COD multiplayer modes. However, not
everything is given to you from the outset.
Your mission performance awards you points, where the more you points
you get, the more you level and the more unlocks are given to you. From there, you can pick what weapons, perks
and add-ons you want at your disposal.

Furthermore, you’re given the option to pick between
different cybercore abilities which are additional skill sets you can use
during the game. The three are Control,
Martial and Chaos. Control, probably my
favourite of the three, allows you to hack into the different robots or tech
that you’ll encounter in game. For
example, you can disable a bad guy’s armor, or shut down the flight system of
drones, or even hack robots such that they turn on each other. Martial, which I used the least, relates more
to maneuverability related abilities.
Finally, Chaos as one would guess, is related to more offensive type
abilities such as shooting out a wave of fireflies to eat at enemies or
exploding robot soldiers.

Of the modern COD games, this campaign felt the longest to
me. On average, I’d spend an hour per
mission, including all the cut scenes.
And with 11 missions in total, it took around at least 10 hours to beat
the first time around. That’s double
than what I’m used to for a COD game. I
can’t say that this is exactly a good thing.
Part of the reason why I enjoyed previous entries was that the story
gave you a quick hit but never overstayed it’s welcome. Perhaps it’s because of the shittier story,
but the game just felt like it dragged on!

I really enjoyed last year’s Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, but Black Ops
3 really felt like a step down from that.
I think part of the problem is that in AW they really changed the
dynamic by giving you dashes and speed boosts as well as the aerial
thrusts. This time around, they’ve
brought back the aerial thrusts, but the speed boosts are gone, so the dynamic of
multiplayer matches really took a hit.

That said, I haven’t spent too much time on the multiplayer
side, but from what I’ve played so far, it seems to be the Call of Duty as we
knew it. If you liked it before, you’ll
like it this time, but if didn’t like it before, don’t look for anything to
change your mind.

There’s more fun and interesting games out there, so unless
you’re a diehard COD fan, I think you can pass on this one. Until next time, later geeks!

The Hateful Eight is Quentin Tarantino’s latest masterpiece
and is somewhat more akin to chamber theater.

The movie opens off following a stagecoach that’s rushing
through the harsh winter terrain avoiding a torrential blizzard that’s on its
tail. Within the coach is a rugged
bearded outlaw named John Ruth, also known as the Hangman, and his captive, a
feisty woman named Daisy. An route to
collect his bounty, they come across Major Marquis Warren, another bounty
hunter, and Chris Mannix, who are stranded in the cold and request a ride from
John Ruth. Not knowing if they can be
trusted, Ruth grudgingly gives them a ride, keeping his fingers hovering closely
over the triggers of his firearms. As
the blizzard becomes more perilous, the band arrives at a lodge, where they
meet the remaining eight. However,
everyone looks a little too greasy, and smells a little bit too much like gunpowder. Who can be trusted? It’s not too long after their arrival that
the Hangman realizes this and that there may be a ploy to free the captive Ms.
Daisy. Everyone is on the edge. But who will make it out alive?

Clocking at over 3 hours (including an intermission), the Hateful Eight is quite a long journey. And as it is similar to a chamber piece, the majority of the time is spent in dialogue. It’s not until the last 40 minutes or so that moves are made and the action happens. But it’s not a movie about action anyways. It’s a methodical piece that slowly unravels the layers to its mystery. This is a type of movie where the terms ‘good guy’ and ‘bad guy’ are all relative. No one is truly good, everyone is just looking out for themselves. It’s just a matter of who is least bad amongst these outlaws. One minute you’re pulling for one character, and the next minute, another. Your emotions move along with the story.

I was listening to Tarantino’s interview on Howard Stern
just before Christmas. He described
enjoying old western shows, notably the Virginian, and especially episodes
where an unknown figure shows up in town.
Up until the end, you never know if they stranger is a good or bad
person. This inspired his Hateful 8. He wanted to make a movie that only starred
these unknown and foreboding strangers.
What a fucking genius!

Tarantino as always crafts intriguing dialogue between his
players. And fortunately, he chose
strong players to fill out his script.
Notably for me, Walton Goggins was the standout as the Chris
Mannix. More so than Kurt Russell (who seems to be an extension of his character in Bone Tomahawk) and Samuel L.
Jackson who both always shine in their roles, he fully portrayed the untrusting
mysterious stranger up until the end.

It’s an engaging story and worth to see, as all Tarantino
movies are. However, I don’t feel like
it’s his best movie if only for the reason of its long runtime which I feel
could have been tightened up and condensed.

Tarantino has been imploring the public to see the film in
70 mm if possible and I find that interesting as the movie really only has two
settings (a carriage and the lodge) and doesn’t really take advantage of vast
landscapes which would look beautiful in 70 mm.
To that, I’d say the 70 mm is not necessary, just so long as you get to
see the movie at all!

Star
Wars!!!! After a 10 year gap we finally
receive a new entry into the now Disney owned Star Wars franchise! So it is apt that the new entry is called the
Force Awakens.

The movie
starts off 30 years from where the Return of the Jedi last left us. The Empire has fallen and the Rebels have
seemingly disbanded. But from the ashes
of the past, a new threat has risen. Out
of the fallen Empire, a new army called the First Order has spawned,
threatening to finish off what the Empire set out to do – eliminate the force by terminating the last
known Jedi, Luke Skywalker. But as the
Empire has evolved so have the Rebels.
Led by General Leia Organa, the Resistance (or the new Rebels) aims to
find Luke first, to stop the First Order.

We are told
this story through two new main characters.
Rey, who is a scavenger on the planet Jakku, who harvests scrap metals
to earn a meal. Finn, a turncoat stormtrooper
who realizes his purpose could be something more than just plight and
destruction. Along their side is a new droid,
BB-8, who holds a clue to Luke Skywalker’s location. Together, the three must deliver this clue to
the Resistance base such that they can find Luke and stop the First Order. However, Kylo Ren, one of the leaders of the
First Order, along with a stormtrooper army are hot on their trail and keeping
their mission from becoming all too easy.

The new trio.

The Force
Awakens is a very exciting and entertaining entry to the Star Wars
franchise. It is by no means perfect,
but it is perfectly enjoyable.

I’ve been
trying to watch all the old Star Wars movies to prepare for this gander. I watched the original trilogy and the
Phantom Menace (I’m still meaning to watch Attack of the Clones and the Revenge
of the Sith). I’ve watched AotC and RotS
a number of times, but the Phantom Menace only once, in its original theatrical
run. Admittedly, at least at the time, I
didn’t hold as much disdain as the general populace did for the prequel
trilogy. However, having watched Phantom
Menace again, I think I see more of why people felt the way they did,
especially in light of the original trilogy.
However, as I recall AotC and RotS were much more entertaining than the
Phantom Menace. Now, this all being
said, one of the reasons why I enjoyed the original trilogy overall compared to
the prequels was that the story was easier to understand. When it’s boiled down, the stories were very
simple. In the prequels, the stories
were a bit muddy and difficult to understand, especially with all the politics
and Republic shit. I didn’t understand
what everyone’s angles were.

And this is
a reason why I enjoyed the Force Awakens.
The story harkens back to the story structures of the original trilogy;
it’s a very simple story. It really boils
down to a search mission. There are
twists and turns and surprises along the way, but the main mission is always in
focus.

The Force
Awakens also introduces us to new characters that are likeable and that we can
get behind. While they’re not carbon
copies of old characters, the new characters are filled with traits from the
pool of past characters.

One of the
biggest themes of the movie deals with lineage.
The galaxy and their stories have evolved into a new age. The Empire and the First Order. The Rebels and the Resistance. The Deathstar and the Starkiller. Leia and Solo’s child. The droids, R2-D2 and BB-8.

Which brings
us to Rey. There is mystery and intrigue
into who she is. She’s one who we can
see is strong with the Force, or at least will be, with more training. She was left by her parents on the planet
Jakku and we are told not much more of her origin. Of the discussions I’ve read so far, the
prevalent theories seem to be that she is spawn of Luke Skywalker or Obi-Wan
Kenobi. While we won’t know until at
least the next movie, my guess would be that she is Leia and Solo’s child. Keep in mind, I know nothing about the expanded
universe, just the clues from this movie.
The way Han Solo looks at her, how he simply offers her a job on the
ship (to keep her close), how Chewie likes her!
It would all make sense.
Thematically, if we’re talking about lineage and homage, whereas the
original trilogy brought us a story about brother/sister allies, the potential
evolution of that could be brother/sister adversaries. If this would indeed be the case, looking back,
the fight between Rey and Kylo Ren would be even more significant.

The new face of evil.

Without over-nerding
here, the mystery and the intrigue are delicious!

However, as
I said before, the movie isn’t perfect.
There are some things that I wish they didn’t do. I feel like there was a lot of winking and
fanservice when paying homage to the old movies. The ambiguity of Finn’s death wasn’t
needed. This one seems like a lose-lose
situation. If he lives, then the tease
of his death was pointless (as I guess a tease is in essence), and if he dies,
then the last moment we shared with him seemed anticlimactic. There was no need for us to see Kylo Ren’s
face. It takes the bloom off that
rose. The threat that Darth Vader
originally exuded was in part because we never saw his face, until the last
movie. With Kylo, they could have held
it off until at least the next movie. We
just met the guy! Give him some fucking
space! These are all however, minor
gripes.

There is
much to enjoy, and Star Wars is back!
This is really timed well for a Christmas release, as its viewing and
its success are celebratory. If you can
find a ticket, go watch it! It’s worth
it! Until next time, may the Force with you
geeks.